Deuterium is a hydrogen isotope with one proton and one neutron, found in small quantities wherever hydrogen is present. It is used in nuclear fusion, as a moderator for fission reactors, and in nuclear magnetic resonance. Deuterium oxide, or heavy water, has some unique properties due to its extra mass. Deuterium is extracted from seawater and is expensive. It is used in the manufacture of nuclear bombs and in artificial fusion research. Brown dwarfs can remain stable by fusing their deuterium.
Deuterium is an isotope of the chemical element hydrogen. Unlike regular hydrogen, which has one proton, deuterium has one proton and one neutron. This isotope is not radioactive and is found in small quantities wherever hydrogen is present. It is mainly used in nuclear fusion, as a moderator for fission reactors and in nuclear magnetic resonance.
For the most part, deuterium is chemically identical to regular hydrogen. It can replace hydrogen in chemical bonds, and most organisms can be grown successfully on high levels of deuterium. Deuterium oxide, called “heavy water,” exhibits some strange effects due to the extra mass of the isotope; it is thicker than regular water and a heavy water ice cube will sink. Organisms that consume small amounts of heavy water are usually unaffected, but the extra mass causes a slight change in its binding properties, and this can disrupt a cell’s biochemistry if too much heavy water is used.
Deuterium is extracted from seawater, where it is found at a concentration of approximately 300 ppm. It is very diluted and therefore the extraction process is energy intensive and expensive; 1 pound (0.4 kilogram) can cost hundreds of US dollars (USD). Due to its atomic mass, the isotope is a better neutron moderator than ordinary hydrogen, and deuterium oxide is used in some nuclear fission reactors, such as the CANDU design. Deuterium is also used in the manufacture of nuclear bombs, and during World War II, the Allies bombed Germany’s main deuterium plant to prevent it from acquiring atomic weapons.
Most of the easy-to-make fusion reactions use deuterium as an ingredient, including deuterium-tritium, the current focus of artificial fusion research. Most of the isotope created within a star is rapidly remelted, and thus the vast majority of hydrogen in the universe either remains hydrogen or fuses into heavier elements such as helium and carbon. Brown dwarfs, which never have an internal temperature high enough to fuse ordinary hydrogen, can remain stable for a few million years by fusing their deuterium.
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